Siviri Caves

Valeva Cave

Useful Information

Location:	Island Efate, northern tip, near Siviri. (-17.5242357, 168.3261685)
Open:	All year daily. [2024]
Fee:	Adults VUV 500, With Kayak VUV 1,000. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	L=305 m, VR=14 m.
Guided tours:	self guided, D=15 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:	Thomas M. Iliffe, Serban Sarbu (1990): Anchialine Caves and Cave Fauna of the South Pacific, NSS News, 199, June, p 95.
Address:	Siviri Caves, Siviri, Efate island.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Second World War	some Americans explored "a long underground river without ever finding its end."
JUL-1988	Explored and surveyed by T. Iliffe and S. Sarbu.

Description

Siviri Caves is a name which is wrong in two ways, nevertheless, it seems to be commonly used. First the cave is actually named Valeva Cave or Falefa Cave, but as it is located at the entrance to Siviri village, it is also called Siviri Cave. And the second nonsense is the plural, there is actually only one cave. This cave is actually the only cave in Vanuatu, which is more or less a show cave. The horizontal cave has a trail, and there is the possibility to ride a kayak inside the cave. At the far end is a cave lake, which is also used to get the drinking water for the village. We guess the trail is actually a result of the installation of the drinking water tube. And the cave is quite small, after a 20 m long passage there is a 20 m long lake, that's all.

However, the cave was surveyed by the NSS in 1990, and has a total length of 305 m. After the entrance chamber, the lake extends through a narrow passage into a second chamber. The main passage runs to the right, at a right angle, parallel to the coastal escarpment. After some more lake it becomes a muddy crawl, which is actually not very suitable for tourists.

The fee is considered quite steep by many visitors, probably mostly because Vanuatu has normally low prices. The entrance fee would be on the lower end in most western countries, but on the other side the tour is pretty short. It seems the cave is operated by the community of the small village, and there is no ticket office, and normally nobody is present at the entrance. Go to the village, it's only a few steps, and ask for the cave. It seems the name of the guide is currently Rachel, and she has a lot of info on the history of the village and the cave. And by the way, despite a rather steep entrance fee, there is no light. Rachel will provide lamps, but they are rather weak, so we strongly recommend bringing your own headlamps. And she will tell you the legend how the cave was discovered and named:

Long ago, the inhabitants of a village located far in the hills came to the shore to catch fish. Although there were no clouds in the sky, one of the fishermen felt a drop of water fall on his hand. He observed that the water fell from the wings of swifts emerging from a small hole between boulders at the base of a limestone cliff. The fishermen began enlarging this hole until only one huge rock that was too heavy to lift remained. With one final effort, this rock was rolled aside and the people shouted "FALEFA!", which in the local language means "The cave opens." Inside the cave was a large room containing a pool with clear cool freshwater. Upon this discovery the old village in the hills was abandoned and a new one built on the coast close to the cave.